For the record: La Repubblica's summary of the Herranz-Tomko-De Giorgi report. The "improper influence" of the "underground"

For the largest Italian daily La Repubblica, the key part of the "300-page" cardinalatial report ("relatio") on the Vatican leaks ("in two red hardbound tomes") -- delivered to the Pope in December 2012 and currently under pontifical secret, and that supposedly influenced him to present his renunciation of the Supreme Pontificate -- was the identification of a hugely powerful and highly influential "homosexual underground" in the Curia and in the universal Church. (Note: the first time the Holy Father was supposed to have been warned of this part of the report was in "October" 2012, in one of his weekly unnanounced audiences about the investigations with Cardinal Herranz.)

This is curiously related to Fr. Dariuz Oko's article published in June 2012 and whose translation was posted last week here.

My personal view of this is that the Pope has realized how desperately and immediately in need of an overhaul the Curia is and considers himself unable at this point in life to eventuate that reform. I may be wrong.

Not necessarily. Many people were interviewed and helped the commission in their report, which also certainly had its parts included in many drafts and revisions. So there are ways for bits of it to appear here or there while the final document remains under strict control. La Repubblica's is not the first venue to mention this part of the report, by the way.

Weep for Holy Mother Church. Express sadness that a massive amount of filth exists within the Church (but is not of the Church). But do not despair as chaos and filth has inflicted Holy Mother Church from Her beginning.

Sexual deviants have been found among Popes, Cardinals, bishops, priests and religious for centuries. That is reality.

Among European Catholics, for example, a great many for centuries have taken it in stride whenever a priest or religious has been found to have engaged in sexual activity and/or other forms of corrpution.

Sexual-related filth is a reality within Holy Mother Church...always has been.

Keep the Faith. Attempt to bolster the Faith among family and friends. Be a good example to everybody who sees you and/or interacts with you. Support holy Catholic priests and religious.

The Church is in a state of collapse. Her terrible condition — it is frightening to contemplate — may grow worse.

Pope Benedict XVI has warned that the Catholic Religion is in danger of virtual extinction in vast areas of the world. Wow!

At any rate, remain attached to the Traditional Roman Mass and Holy Tradition. If bishops and priests in your area have blocked the Traditional Roman Mass — most likely the case — then cling to the Traditional Roman Mass in your heart and mind...particularly via video.

Please do not despair. Pray for Pope Benedict XVI and our future Pontiff. Cling to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

"I don't know how it was, I saw the Holy Father in a very big house, kneeling by a table with his head buried in his hands, and he was weeping. Outside the house, there were many people. Some of them were throwing stones, others were cursing him and using bad language. Poor Holy Father. We must pray very much for him."

I think it's obvious now how the Devil has used the mandate of celibacy against the Church. I am not in any way suggesting a change in that discipline; I am simply pointing out that he has exploited it and turned it upside down as a means to infiltrate her clergy.

I'm confident that God will bring good out of this in some way. Remember that the Devil thought he triumphed at Calvary only to realize that he had made a huge miscalculation and was thoroughly outsmarted.

The presence of a deep, self-protecting, self-promoting network of predatory homosexuals at all levels of the Church hierarchy has been common knowledge for years. The 'lavender mafia' as characterized in such books as "Goodbye, Good Men" blew the lid off this years ago (Bernardin's Boys...etc.). And now THIS report is enough to help bring down a pontificate?!?!?! Nope, not buying it.

"And in related news, the sun set this evening and according to reliable reports, will rise tomorrow morning..."

Are they suggesting he is stepping down because he doesn't want to be Pope when the dirty laundry goes public?

Not exactly, but they are saying that the Holy Father received this report back in December and,instead of deciding that He would remain Pope and deal decisively with this Mafia, he felt destroyed (depressed, perhaps?), and decided that he lacked the vigour, the strength of mind and body, the energies required to conduct a decisive clean-up operation, to confront the deep "challenges to the life of Faith", to declare war against this enemy force that is rooted inside the Church universal.

Instead, the Pope decided to relinquish His Throne, in the hopes that an energetic Pope will be elected, that the Holy Spirit will provide someone with the strength that the present Pope thinks he lacks, in order to confront this challenge.

I for one, would have tought that, if this mafia exists, Pope Benedict XVI was the man to deal with it. He is uncompromising, faithful, and, after all, he was chosen by the Holy Spirit in the last Conclave to be our Pope.

But since the Pope decided to put an end to his pontifical service, since He decided that the Church needs someone else at the helm, we will see what the Conclave will bring forth to the Church. We wait.

I think it's important to understand the context of the saying of Claudius, "Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out." It's from that greatest of all television miniseries: I, Claudius.

Here's the scene:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY1IXOg7ac8

Emperor Claudius is nearing the end of his life. He's seen every variety of treachery and corruption under the sun. His aids are now attempting to convince him to marry yet again. One of them suggests an incestuous marriage, the suggestion of which encapsulates the putrefying moral fabric of Rome. From the depths of his numbness, Claudius adopts this mantra:

This is a disgrace that this should happen in the Vatican, but it should not come as a surprise. Since 1965, this has been growing...reaching unpresidented corruption and influence of these groups from the mismanagement and lack of interest in governing the Church by the Pope from 1978-2005.This rot and filth (accurately described by such by the then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger in 2005, weeks before becoming Benedict XVI) was given free reign by the previous Pope by his inaction. God forbid if the man knew of this activity, and consciously did nothing!!The influence of these groups, almost across the board a clique of radical liberal dissenters should be swept out of the Vatican by the new Pope.

Who can do the job?? We should be cheering and celebrating that two of the most radical liberals who have been touted as "papabile" have in recent days been disgraced either by their own personal comments (Turkson of Ghana), or by their office, work performance, and associates (Ravasi). Their chances for the Papal tiara are probably smashed. But we must pray that we do not get a Pope such as Scola, or Dolan, or O'Malley (names coming into play in the game to be Pope). Dolan would be like John Paul II...and although the man might have been personally devout, he was not a good Pope....as this scandal which could very well bring down the Church proves. They were his men, and he put them in place. His priorities as Pope (world travel) was totally misguided . The "new movements" he so feverishly supported have proved to be, in many cases, not even truely Catholic!

It is fortunate that Benedict XVI lasted long enough as Pope that the new pope will no longer have to be judged by John Paul II's standards and priorities. God help the Church, if the next Pope rather than cleaning house and restoring the Faith as Benedict XVI tried to do, instead restores the priorities, agenda, and gestures of John Paul II.

Make no mistake.....this scandal uncovered by these three great Cardinals...none of them liberals (especially Tomko), is so deep and so serious that it could very well wreck the Church. It is the tip of the iceberg....the rot of Vatican II in the Vatican is only now being discovered. We need a Pope strong enough and young enough (and not a moderate or progressive) to begin the task of cleaning out the Vatican and rebuilding the Church according to Catholic tradition....not according to Vatican II.The only Cardinal I see who at least has this mindset won;t get elected.....Cardinal Burke.

Let us pray for a holy, traditional, and solidly able administrator as Pope, a man with the courage to clean the Church...a task Benedict XVI recognized needs to be done, but was not young and healthy enough, or brave enough to begin.

Let us pray for the Church and for God to save us from a moderate or liberal Pope...or a man in the mold of John Paul II. God help the Church is that type is what we get. I appologize for saying this, but if that is what turns out....the Church will deserve what is happening to it, and will deserve what it gets.

I must say that I am very relieved because all the confusion in the Church over the last 60 years is finally being explained. Many good Catholics have erred by insisting on what I call "Pope-dependence", i.e., that any pope will be able to straighten out this horror. As The Blessed Virgin said to Lucia, "Only I can help you." Prayer and mortification for Mary's intentions are the ONLY answer.

It appears that the post-concilar Church, which has "ecclipsed" the true Church for the past 50 years, is finally collapsing under the weight of its own crimes.

The report mentions the 6th and 7th commandmants, which were violated in secret.

Unfortunately, the first Commandment was violated in public for all the world to see, in the Assisi meetings and other eccumenical activites of the post conciliar POPES!!!! THAT! is what disgifured the face of the Church.

Is this a worst situation than the "Pornocracy" in the 8/9th century, or the "Simonocracy" of the 10/11th century, or the period of the "Cleptocracy" Borgias and the warrior Popes?Isn't this just another of bloody wound on the face of Christ?

Apocalypse9:3 And from the smoke of the pit there came out locusts upon the earth. And power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.9:4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth nor any green thing nor any tree: but only the men who have not the sign of God on their foreheads.and their faces were as the faces of men.9:8 And they had hair as the hair of women: and their teeth were as lions.

The late Malachi Martin wrote of the presence within the Vatican of an alleged "SuperForce," a malignant association of powerful archbishops and cardinals that were active Freemasons/Satanists and bound as well by their common homosexuality. Although he wrote in his book "Windswept House" of an alleged early 1960's Satanic 'enthronement' ceremony in St. Peter's that to my knowledge has never been independently verified, Pope Benedict's difficulties leading to his abdication lend credence to this thesis. Perhaps the homosexual members of the Superforce are the 'wolves'the Holy Father referred to at the beginning of his pontificate?

It seems that the three Cardinals from the Comission created by Pope Benedict to investigate the Vatileaks case, and who presented to the Pope the December report on the investigations and conclusions of the Commission, will be allowed and directed by Pope Benedict XVI to reveal to the whole College of Cardinals the result of their inquiry. The Cardinals will have access to the Report during the preparatory Congregations of the College of Cardinals that take place during the Sede Vacante:

If I were approached by a cleric with a sexual proposition I would probably punch him in the face too, never mind what the Code of Canon Law says.

That said, in the example given by Benedict Carter, canon 1370 would not apply, as that canon (see §3) only relates to the punishment, "with a just penalty" of "a person who uses physical force against a cleric or religious out of contempt for the faith, the Church, ecclesiastical power".

In the case of someone defending himself from an homossexual advance, the use of physical force would not be due to contempt for the faith or the Church, or legitimate ecclesiastical power.

So, no canonical crime would be committed, and, even if it were (say, in the case of one punching a Bishop in the face), any imposition of penalty would be unjust.

Many of us have been aware, for decades, of the malign influence of the homosexuals in the orders, seminaries and hierarchy, though perhaps not the extent of the infection. Surely we can now be confident that the necessary drastic steps to identify and remove those responsible for so much damage will be taken.

Something doesn't make sense. The Holy Father is briefed that an organized, horrible group of homosexual clergy have infiltrated every level of the Church, including the Curia and the College of Cardinals. He is very disheartened and weakened by the news. But instead of removing some of these guys, he decides to abdicate, hoping that his successor will be able rout them out. Yet, these very men mentioned will have an influence on who his successor will be. Perhaps a very strong influence. Doesn't add up to me unless he excommunicates or removes a bunch of these guys on the morning of Feb. 28. Not that I doubt the existence of a homomafia in the Church. I think a lot of us have seen it first hand. On a related note, I wonder if one of the reasons, among many good ones, Pope Benedict has tried to bring the SSPX back into the fold, is because he sees a schism coming. The liberals are going to break off soon, and perhaps the Pope wanted the faithful Catholics to be united with the SSPX before it happens, so that amidst the confusion of the schism, we (the faithful) would be a united front for Tradition.

Roberto, that is correct. He called this situation to a T almost 15 years ago. All those who have ridiculed him in the past as a "crazy conspiracist" or what have you owe him an engraved apology at this point.

If all this is true, and I for one do not doubt it at all, then that evil crowd must be excommunicated en masse immediately. That filth must be swept out of the Church without delay. It is a great scandal.The entire homosexual underground must be uprooted throughout the Church everywhere immediately. Get rid of them, excommunicate them. If it means numerous cardinals, bishops and priests then so be it. To allow these serveants of Satan to remain in the Church is blaspheming God and a scandal to the faithful.

What suffering must our Holy Father have undergone and than to think he felt the need to renounce the Papacy. What unspeakable sorrow. Lord have mercy.

The Holy Spirit inspired Pope Benedict XVI's words: "but the sufferings of the Church come precisely from within the Church, from the sin existing within the Church. This too is something that we have always known, but today we are seeing it in a really TERRIFYING way: that the greatest persecution of the Church comes not from her enemies without, but arises from SIN WITHIN the Church, and that the Church thus has a deep need to relearn penance, to ACCEPT PURIFICATION, to learn forgiveness on the one hand, but also the need for justice." (Interview, May 11, 2010)

Prior to his meeting with Our Divine Judge, may His Holiness live out his days unioned in a perfect "Fiat" to help make reparation for these heinous sins that have crucified Our King and are now crushing with sorrow much of the Mystical Body including the Vicar of Christ.

Punching in the face, depending on circumstance, would also make the advance public and bring to light such ill behavior, whereas if you make a complaint to the local Bishop he can stuff your complaint in a drawer or the ID-10T file.

I can't understand for the life of me in reading 'Good-Bye Good Men' why didn't these seminarians physically fight back on some of these advances where they were physically assaulted? I even tell my children that if their sibling is playing around and thinks it funny to lay their hands where they're not suppose to you punch and kick them off you and tell mom and dad. Self defense in that regard is to be rewarded and not chastised. I let my kids know that no one has a right to lay hands on inappropriate areas unless if it's necessary for health or some other appropriate reason.

Looks like this 50 year old pustule is about to blow! Lie after lie, year after year. That there are any faithful Catholics left is a miracle of Grace! I know that Jesus is going to hit a "walk-off" home run, but I wonder how many will remain in the "stadium" to see it. I guess the question asked by Jesus about when the Son of Man comes again...will He find Faith, (Luke 18:8) isn't rhetorical after all. The Pope's "resignation" allows all these old liberals one more shot at disfiguring Jesus' beautiful Spouse, the Church. Nice timing! God help them all! Traitors!

I suppose I could add more precious sanctimonious platitudes but the fact of the matter is that the hierarchy is (surprise!) extremely profane, corrupt and worldly. The exceptions prove the rule. We are just seeing into the hyper-secretive, closed institution more openly these days and it is not edifying. Benedict XVI is a product of his many years in the Vatican and was hardly ignorant of all this,hardly a babe in the woods. To the contrary, he had to play the curial power game up until his election and that includes being privy to the whispered gossip, innuendos and back stabbing that naturally go on in court intrigues with jockeying for position and power. We need to adjust as Rome seems to have been quite content to do.

However, shouldn't the whole Church, the whole body of the faithful, be told the whole truth?.

The maintenance of pontifical secret in this case is in my opinion absolutely wrong. Instead, Pope Benedict XVI should see to it that, before the end of his pontificate on February 28, the Vatican Website makes avaliable a FULL COPY, in pdf format or whatever, of the Vatileaks Report.

There should be a Holy See Press Office conference about it, and a summary should be included in the Bulletin of the Holy See Press Office.

The Commssion has reached its conclusion, and on a matter of such gravity, there should be no secrecy at all. Instead, transparency should be fostered.

We don't know what the future holds for the Church after the present Pope's resignation becomes operative. That's why the Pope should take care to guarantee that no cover-up operation will take place after he departs the Chair of Peter.

Edgar, it is a mistake to say that the dossier caused the papal resignation. And that is not exactly what the article says.

Yet, the resignation declaration is quite clear that there are several administrative issues that the Pope considers himself incapacitated to consider at this moment. We have refrained from any conspiracy theory here, but the declaration already contains plenty of information that is not limited to "I am tired", as some have insisted. It is just too soon to say everything in these articles is just made up. We will return to this shortly.

The next Pontiff should reestablish La Sapinière and reinstate the Holy Office with her original full authority. The postconciliar "reforms" of the Roman Curia have damaged fatally the time proven structures of the roman structures and are not able challenge the complots of the enemies of the cross of Christ.

Stephen Brady of Roman Catholic Faithful upon breaking open the "Sebastian's Angels" scandal identified clerics working in the Vatican curia who were homosexuals and joyfully working against the Church.http://rcf.org/Old_web/REMOVESEB/angels/confidentialhomosexualpriestringstartingpage.htm

@Prof. BastoNo, I don't think we all need to know every last detail. In fact, I am quite certain that the whole Church (and thus the whole world) should not know all of the details.

In this dossier there are sure to be a great many things which would cause scandal to many, and these things are better kept secret. Likewise, there is no need to expose the gory details for those whose interest in them would be mainly prurient curiosity. Finally, it is likely that much of what is contained pertains to cases which have not (yet) been subjected to canonical processes. Prudence, justice, and charity, then, dictate that what is not profitable for the whole world to know, not be revealed.

We should not feel entitled to know things which it is not our business to know. What is important is that the mess be cleaned up, even if the details of it never see the light of day. The idea that everything ought to be transparent to everyone is a modern, secular one, and not Catholic. Some things must needs remain secret. God knows the hearts and minds of men, and nothing is secret to Him. That is enough. What remains for us is for each — from the Holy Father on down — to do his particular duty, according to his station.

The Holy Father as Card. Ratzinger said that the Third Secret should not be revealed until it would not cause "one-sidedness and disequilibrium" in the curia. I believe we are now seeing the contents of the Third Secret being played out on the world stage. And this is only the very beginning.

The opening of the 6th Seal of the Apocalypse [6:12-18] seems to have begun as the "private" horrors of souls are revealed:

"[15]And the kings of the earth, and the PRINCES, and tribunes, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of mountains:

[16] And they say to the mountains and the rocks: Fall upon us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth upon the Throne and from the wrath of the Lamb: [17] For the great day of Their wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?"

Is there any truth to these Allegations? Should we wait until the "truth' emerges before we react? I can't believe any of this mostly because I don't want to. i pray to God that none of this is true......the damage to the Church would be inestimable....I feel; as if I have been living in a vacuum somewhere....so many of your correspondents are so convinced of the veracity of these claims, and even go as far as claiming prior knowledge of them. if this has been "common" knowledge" for so long, why hasn't something been done about it.? I am devastated.

Dear John Peters,You are not alone. I tried to express to some on the blog a week ago your same sentiments as I have never experienced anything of this nature in the Church in my neck of the woods. I was told I was in denial. I have since done a little survey of my own among serious Catholics "in the know" so to speak, and none of them knew anything of this "homosexual network" in our diocese. In fact they were quite shocked. This is not to say that it doesn't exist, there is too much evidence to the contrary - but I believe it is a powerful minority in the Church - and in SOME countries more than others. It would truly be a nightmare to think that "this" is everywhere in the Church. It is not true - for who could the poor faithful trust?

Pope Benedict has been trying to clean this up for a long time... and his work is about to be made manifest...